The Twelve Dancing Princesses
by Singing Tree
Summary: or The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces. The traditional story, but more detailed. Enjoy!


**Chapter 1:**

It was the very first day of a new school semester. For some, the semester was in college. For others, it meant elementary school. For the "Prince" family, it meant many, _many_ headaches.

"Arabella, where's my hairbrush!"

"Rowena, get _out_ of the restroom!"

"Amelia, do you know where my bookbag is?"

"Felicity, your boots are here! _GET THEM OFF MY SHIRT!_ They're covered in mud!"

"Alexandra, wake up! You need to help, too!"

"Come on, girls, we have to leave in ten minutes!"

"_WHAT?_" eleven voices shouted at once.

"People, I need to sleep; I'm going to be up late tonight in class!"

"Come on, girls! We've got to go!"

The girls—there were twelve of them—went by the surname of "Prince" when they went to their schools. In reality, they were all princesses. Their father, King Hubert Stefan, had decided to keep their image from the public, making it easier for them to go into a normal school atmosphere when they were old enough. Now they were all in school, and making grades the way normal people would. Except Elizabeth; in the mornings, she had to attend her father's court, because she was eldest. In the afternoons, she had a little time to spend with her sisters. And in the evenings, she had to go to school, where she was now recognized because of her open involvement in the court.

The eleven girls going to school in the morning all piled into a carriage that would take them to their different schools.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Madame Dubey asked as the carriage. "Guenevere?"

"Here," a girl with dark brown hair and intelligent dark eyes said. She was reading over some notes about Beethoven she had taken the day before. Guenevere was two years younger than Elizabeth at the age of twenty-two.

"Felicity?"

"Here." Felicity had long, red hair like her eldest sister, but green eyes and freckles. Felicity was trying to figure out a way to tell her sister Guenevere that is wasn't mud that got on her boots at the stables where she rode and competed.

"Alexandra, Amelia, and Arabella?"

"Here," the triplets, who all looked very different, said at once. Alexandra had long (waist-length) blonde hair and bright blue eyes, Amelia had short-cropped (chin-length) brown hair and green eyes, and Arabella had medium (shoulder-length) red hair and brown eyes.

"Rowena?"

"Yes?" Rowena, a girl with blonde hair and green eyes, looked up. She had been reading over a new script without even realizing what was going on around her.

"Lucile?"

"Here," she said softly, distracted. Lucy was paying attention to a piece of fabric with several interesting—at least, interesting to her—stitches on it. From time to time, she would curl her long, black hair behind her ear and try to throw the rest of it over her shoulder, wishing it would stay there.

Madame Dubey rolled her eyes, but only slightly, and continued to call off names.

"Cosette? Catherine?"

"Here," the two girls said one after the other. Cossette and Catherine looked very similar to each other; the only difference was their personality and eyes. While Catherine had green eyes, Cossette had blue eyes.

"Diana and Danica?"

"Here, Madame Dubey," Diana replied.

"I'm here, too, Madame Dubey," Danica said.

Madame Dubey nodded and sighed to herself. It was always worrisome that she would forget someone. The girls were all lovely, but very hard to keep track of. There were even times when Madame Dubey wasn't sure if she wanted to watch over her lovely nieces anymore. Their mother, the late Queen Liyla, had been Madame Lily Dubey's twin sister. Then Liyla had married the Prince—now King—Hubert Stefan. The king and queen had twelve lovely, lovely daughters, but the queen had died before she saw her baby twins turn three. The whole kingdom had mourned the loss of their beloved Queen Liyla.

"Madame Dubey, at what age can we stop pretending to be peasants?" Danica asked.

"Why do ask, Danica?"

"Because the boys treat me like all the other girls! When our class goes outside to play—we play a game that _I_ created—the boys who play all try to overthrow my rule! It's so frustrating!"

Madam Dubey smiled to herself. "They're just boys, Danica."

"Yes, but it's _my_ game! I created it!"

"They'll grow up, Danny," Felicity said. "At least, eventually they do."

"Are all the boys in your class grown up, Lissy?"

Felicity smiled. "Well, no. Of course, it is rather hard for a boy to grow up when they think that they're the best. Of course, that is, until I beat them in a race."

That got a chuckle from all the girls, even Madam Dubey.

"Auntie Lily, when can I stop going to school?" Diana asked seriously.

"Why do you want to get out of school?"

"My teacher, Chef Amelio Caribanie, keeps giving me low marks because I don't use any measurements, even though my platters come out better than anyone else's."

"It's because he's got a man's self-esteem, Di; when the teacher graduates you, you'll be able to take over for him," Alexandra said from behind her book.

"First stop," the footman driving the carriage said. Guenevere stood.

"I'll see you all at lunch-time," she said as she quitted the carriage. It drove off and continued stopping at all the girls' schools, since they all went to different ones. Each of the twelve beautiful princesses had unique interests and characteristics.

**A/N: Well, here's the first chapter! This story might come slower than my story Rapunzel, since I have to keep up twelve unique characters (NOT EASY!), but I'll try! Please review!**


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